Bon Iver Launches New ‘Counterpart’ Project, Asking ‘Who Else Could Embody the Role of Bon Iver?’

Bon Iver has launched a mysterious new project, Counterpart, which invites fans and creatives to upload their covers of beloved songs from the Wisconsin native's catalogue.

The covers are selected at random and played on a loop via a new website, with probing questions flashing up about the link between the artist and their art, such as, “Who else could embody the role of Bon Iver?” and “If a song is a vessel, who else might fill it?”

Justin Vernon's surprising new project is described as, “a site documenting creative expression with and as Bon Iver. Please share your photo, audio, or video in response to our prompts. New prompts and your submissions will appear at random”. Bon Iver announced Counterpart by sharing a clip of Sam Amidon performing ‘THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS’ during the London SABLE, release party.

Although some fans are worried this might be Justin Vernon - the man behind Bon Iver - signalling that he's planning on stepping away from Bon Iver and looking for someone to fill his shoes, it doesn't appear that this is indeed the intention behind Counterpart.

Rather, it feels like this is an expansion of the comments Justin Vernon made during his 2024 interview with The New Yorker, during which he expressed his confusion at why fans become so interested in the artists that make their favourite songs.

He reflected, “Why do we like a song? Is it because of who’s singing it to us? Or is it the song? I just think it’s the song. For me, it is. For me, it’s about the song and what the music does”.

As a result, Counterpart seems as though it's a way of consolidating this belief that the music should be viewed as distinct from its creator. By showcasing a plethora of fan-made covers of Bon Iver classics, it highlights that each song can take on a life of its own and a completely unique meaning, depending on who is listening or performing.

Bon Iver dropped his first new project in five years in September, with the enigmatic singer-songwriter sharing three tracks as part of his acclaimed SABLE, EP, ‘S P E Y S I D E‘, ‘AWARDS SEASON’ and ‘THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS’.

For those who are still concerned Justin Vernon may be toying with the idea of removing himself from Bon Iver, many suspect Vernon is readying a follow-up to SABLE,, due to the fact that - for the first time - the ever-present comma that we find in Bon Iver's album titles is placed at the end of the project's name, rather than in the middle. It seems this could be a hint that there is a SABLE, sequel en route.

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